Saturday, January 12, 2008
We've barely welcomed 2008 with open arms and there already seems to be so many problems to be resolved world-wide. Whenever I read about the happenings in Pakistan, it sets in a melancholic tone. I don't know what to say. That country's going through so much. I have no choice but to be diplomatic here as this is open to the public but personally, I feel the country's wearing out faster than the tyres on the roads. Is anyone going to wake up and take action?India and Pakistan. If they come together for a cause, they can wow the world with their impact. They have so much to offer. They are both rich culturally; they can bank upon their agriculture to make advancements in fields like organic farming; they have several picturesque places that can be developed into tourist attractions. They can depend on each other in order to achieve mutualism. India - its booming IT industry and its nuclear technology. Pakistan - its fertile lands and textile industry. I do not understand some things. If these ideas can occur to a common man(or woman in this case) like me, then shouldn't the more able respective authorities be better equipped to make and execute plans that are fruitful for both the parties involved?
This brings me to the Bali incident. I shall copy-paste the email I received from the organisation Avaaz. People please have a look at this. You might as well just read this bit. I should have pasted this before so that you could have skipped my writing if you wanted to. Anyway, here's it :
"Arriving in Bali, most countries wanted to work towards a new global treaty on climate change as well as new targets for carbon emissions by rich countries. But late last week, the US and Canada teamed up to undermine the talks -- the US blocked the whole Bali summit consensus, and when a smaller group of Kyoto treaty countries tried to move ahead without the US, they were blocked by Canada. The summit was in danger of deadlock. The Avaaz community flew into action, signing and spreading petitions to each of the governments, supporting ad campaigns in Bali and Canada, marches around the world, and phoning and lobbying elected officials.
At the summit, Avaaz members brought the storm of public criticism inside the conference walls with the only march allowed inside the venue, the largest climate petition delivery in history, daily press conferences and "fossil awards" for the worst countries in the negotiations, and constant lobbying of officials. In the final hours of the summit, Canada backed down completely and allowed Kyoto countries to agree to strong 2020 targets on carbon emissions, and the US team, now entirely isolated and actually booed by the world's diplomats, compromised and agreed to call for "deep cuts" and "reference" the 2020 targets. This paved the way for the summit to agree to sign a new global climate change treaty by 2009.
Usually these conferences are stuffy diplomatic affairs - but this time the world was watching, and speaking, each day. Together, we brought people-powered politics to the halls of power, and put our governments on notice: in the fight to save our environment, we will not be spectators."
" This is just the beginning. Every nation of the world has now agreed that they will enter into accelerated negotiations and, by 2009, sign a new treaty to confront global warming. We need this treaty to set binding global targets for carbon emissions, and a mechanism for meeting them, that keep the earth's temperature from rising more than 2 degrees celsius - the amount that scientists say would be 'catastrophic'. Such a treaty will change the world's economy forever, weaning us off oil and fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy. Some leaders, in the pocket of the oil industry, will fight it tooth and nail all the way. And we will too. A great struggle to save our environment has begun, and this weekend, showed together that the people of the world aren't intending to sit this one out."
WAY TO GO AVAAZ! :)
Labels: Thinking as a World Citizen
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